FGF-16

FGF-16 is expressed chiefly in heart, placenta, pancreas and fetal liver, and shares its closest sequence similarity with FGF-9. It signals mainly through FGFR4 and, like FGF-9, can transform fibroblasts when overexpressed. In the heart FGF-16 promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation and has been implicated in cardiac hypertrophy and angiogenesis; during development it participates in placental and vascular formation. Elevated FGF16 expression has been observed in several tumor types. Recombinant FGF-16 is used to study FGFR4-selective signaling, in cardiac cell proliferation assays and in placental development models, providing a defined ligand for this less-characterized family member.